CHINA: Carlsberg "poised to sell" Chinese breweries

Carlsberg, the world's sixth-largest brewer, is reportedly poised to sell control of an unprofitable Shanghai brewery to Tsingtao Brewery Company, China's largest beermaker, according to Chinese press reports.

Tsingtao disclosed its plans in June to acquire at least two foreign breweries in China's major cities to boost production capacity and to double its share of the world's second-largest beer market to 10%. Carlsberg is negotiating the sale of as much as 75% of its brewery in Songjiang, a Shanghai suburb, sources told a Chinese paper.

The Songjiang brewery commenced operation in October 1998 with an investment of $36.4m. Carlsberg owns 95% of the plant. The remaining 5% is owned by the Songjiang city government.

Carlsberg said today that global beer volume showed a 20% increase in the first quarter of the year driven by strong organic growth in BBH as well as a considerable contribution from acquisitions, inc...